SANA: At least 14 people were killed in Israeli attacks in the Syrian province of Hama

At least 14 people were killed late Sunday in multiple Israeli attacks in the vicinity of Masyaf, a city in the Syrian province of Hama, the Syrian state news agency (SANA) reported today, reports Reuters.

Two regional intelligence sources said a major military research center for the production of chemical weapons located near Masyaf was hit several times.

It is believed to house a team of Iranian military experts involved in the production of weapons.

There was no comment from Israel, which usually does not comment on reports of strikes in Syria.

Since the October 7 attack by Hamas on Israeli civilians and soldiers, Israel has escalated its strikes against Iranian-backed militia targets in Syria, and has also hit Syrian army air defenses and some Syrian forces.

"Around 23:20 p.m. Sunday evening, the Israeli enemy launched an air aggression from the direction of northwestern Lebanon, targeting a number of military locations in the central region (of Syria)," a military source told the SANA news agency.

"Our air defense systems faced the missiles of aggression and shot down some of them," the source added, without elaborating.

A local health official, quoted by SANA, said 43 people were injured in the attacks, with several in critical condition.

Syrian state media also reported that the strikes caused two fires, which firefighters were working to put out.